Transmission mechanism



Patented oet. 12,1920.

2 SH-EETS-SHEEIYL Chmn",

' STAHL y TRANSMISSION MECHANISM. v

PPUCATION FILED FEB. lgFsn v I rammed ocu 12, v1920.l

fr ia.

RODOLPHE STAI-IL, OF JACKSON, .MICHIGALL iiiri'i STATE ATRANSMISSION' MECHANISM.

1,355,516 Specification of Letters Patent.y Patented Oct. 12, 19200 Application tiled February 7, y1918.v Serial No. 215,877.

T 0 @ZZ /io/iom it may concern Be it lknown that l, RonoLiiin STAHL, a citizen'of the United States, residing at Jackson, county of Jackson, State of Michi,- gan, have invented a certain new and use ful Improvement in Transmission Mechanism, and declare the following to be a full,

transmission mechanism for automobiles .and especially an improvement in the arrangement of the universal joints in said mechanism.

I secure this object'in the apparatus illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which: Figure l is an elevation of a transmis-l sion mechanism embodying my invention with so much of an automobile as is necessary to illustrate its connection therewith.

Fig. 2 is an elevation, mostly in section,

of the` transmission mechanism shown in- Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional detail of one of the universal joints and adjacent parts.

Fig. 4 is an elevation looking from the right of Fig. 3.

. Fig. 5 is a detail view partly in section of a modified construction.

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the socket pieces for securing the shaft ends.

a is the chassis of an automobile, Z) is the front axle and e the rear axle. a? is a spring connecting' the chassis with the rear axle. d is the engine, o the change speed gearing and is the transmission shaft linterposed between the change speed gearing e and the gear shaft c. g is a universal joint at. one end of the shaft f and adjacent to the change speed gearing e. ggis a similar universal joint at the other end of the transmission shaft f adjacent to the rear axle c. 7i is the shaft from which the power is transmitted to the transmission shaft and z' is the shaft to which the power is communicated bythe transmission shaft to the rear axle C.

The universal joint at each end of the transmission shaft f consists of a--spider 7c upon the driving shaft and a spider j upon the driven shaft. In this particular instance the spiders have three arms, though v they'may yhave more, and the arms of oneA of said spiders is interposed angularly midway between the arms of the other of said spiders. m areflexible bands, in this in.

stance they are annular in shape and theyare bound vby Kbolts m2 to the arms of the spiders 7c and j so as to form a flexible con* nection between said spiders through which power is conveyed from the arms ofthe spider on the. driving shaft to the driven shaft through the arms of the spider thereon.

Upon the end of oneof the shafts, as for instance, the driving shaft z, in Fig. 3, there is formed a ball k2 vwhich may be turned 75 v on a separate piece sciewed or otherwise fixed to the shaft h, as shown in Fig. 3, or

' which may be directly formed upon the shaft, as shown in Fig. 5. This ball has' its center on the axis of the shaft produced.

j' There is a socket formed on the other of said shafts as the driven shaft in Fig. 3, in which the ball h2 lits so that the axes of the two united shafts intersect at the center of said ball. In the present instance, the shaft f is a hollow tube and there is aisocket piece g therein madeup of thetwo halves g2 and g3. These two halves are put together so as to-form a socket and inclose tlie-ball and then be inserted in the bore of the tube 9o n is a compression spring, one end resting against the washer 0, and the other against a socket piece g and tending to force said socket piece outward.

It will be observed by reference to Figs.

l and 2 that the transmission shaft f is n'or- 100 mally in an inclined position. For this reason the spring n at the lower end of said shaft is inade somewhat stronger than the correspondingfspring at the upper end so as to sustain the greater weight of the shaft that would come on said spring because of the inclined position ofthe shaft.` This is indicated in Fig. 2 by making the wire of noticeably greater diameter'only it is not intended to indicate the dimensions of the wire accurately but simply to indicate 'that the tension is greater in the lower spring.

shaft is held in its 'central position so that the injurious and destructive centrifugal forces are avoided,

The' springs am carry thelongitudinal forces with a yieldingpressure and prevent any -strain which would otherwise arise from-such forces coming 'upon the flexible connections of the universal joints and hold the transmission shaft in a favorable support for accurate running. I have shown my invention in-connection with an inclined transmission shaft inasmuch as it has thespecial utility of supporting the uneven weight of the shaft due to such position, but my invention is obviouslyin its substantial nature applicable to all transmission mechanism embodying a universal joint of the kind described iaving flexible connections through which the force is transmitted.

In the automobile generally, transmission mechanism of this nature are required to be designed to allow for endwise motion in the connection in which is interposed the clutch. This endwise motion allows for the engagement and ,disengagement of the clutch. In thetransmission shaft, as shown in the drawings, it allows for the endwise motion dueto the springs and the oscilla.

tions due to the use upon a road. By the above construction it is not necessary that this endwise motion should be all accommodated by the flexible connection inasmuch vas the socket pieces g may move longitudi nally of the shaft against the action of th springs n '/i. f

At the lower or rear end of the shaft f,

vI- provide what may be appropriately styled a double arrangement of the spiders and flexible connecting means therebetween. In this instance a sleeve w is free to slide upon the shaft fwhich passes therethrough,'and at the opposite ends of this sleeve the same carries the oppositely disposed inside spider portions y between which latter and the opposing outside spider portions 002, y2 flexible members m, m (the same as hereinbefore described) are connected at m2. The spider portion y2 is made fast to the shaft f through the medium of the securing means 1/3, or its equivalent, so that it will be rotated with said shaft, and therefrom through the flexi- .ble connecting means mf, spider g, sleeve a', spider adjoining flexible connecting means m and' spider portion m2 of the spider j, rotative movement will be transmitted to the shaft z'. This duplication of the flexible connecting members, incident to the Iuse of the two pairs of spider portions, enables the latter to give in a direction longitudinally of the shaft f in keeping with the relatively long range of longitudinal sliding adjustment of the shaft in the A sleeve 0a.

Vhat I claim is: 1. In a transmission mechanism, the combination of a driving and a driven shaft,

a universal joint connecting the ends of said shafts, said universal joint including a flexible longitudinal acting transmission member between eccentric points on said shafts, one of said shafts being hollow; a socket piece adapted to fit and reciprocate longitudinally in the hollow of said shaft,

mission part, said shaft being normally inclined to the horizontal, means for centering each end of said shaft at the center of its adjacent universal joint, and a spring at each end of said shaft acting on one part of said centering means, said springs acting on said shafts in opposite directions and the lower of said springs being the stronger for the purpose described.

3.y In an, automobile, a shaft inclined to the horizontal, a universal joint at the lower end of said shaft including a tensional flexi- `ble annular transmission part, means for centeringv said end of said transmission shaft, and a spring acting on said centering means and adapted to support the weight of said shaft that would otherwise come upon saidjoint because of the inclined position vof said shaft.

4. The combination of a driving and a driven shaft, a spider rigidly secured upon one of said shafts at a distance from its end, a sleeve slidable upon said shaft between its end and said spider permitting said shaft to pass through the sleeve into centering relation to the other shaft, a spider upon said other shaft, and flexible members connecting each of said spiders with said sleeve, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. The combination of a driving and a driven shaft, a spider rigidly secured upon one 'of said shafts at a distance from its end,

as and for the purpose described.-

(S. ln en automobile, the combination ot u power inn'mrtinggj shaft and the main transmission shutt o1 un automobile :1nd the shaft receiving its power from seid main transmission shaft, e universal joint at one end of said main transmission shaft joining the same to the power imparting shaft hawing' means for carrying' the longitudinal forces with yieldingpressure, and a universel joint at the other end of said main ing pressure, each oi' said universel joints l5 includingV n flexible drivingmember between points of achat-ent ends of said shafts.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specifil cation.

RODOLPHE STAHL. 

